The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Carpinus caroliniana and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘JN Select A’. ‘JN Select A’ represents a new cultivar of American hornbeam, ironwood, or musclewood, a deciduous tree grown for landscape use.
The Inventor discovered the new cultivar in May of 2003 as a chance seedling that was growing in a block of seedlings planted in 1996 from seed derived from open pollination of unnamed and unpatented plants of Carpinus caroliniana in Menomonee Falls, Wis. Both the female and male parent are unknown.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished in 2004 by side-veneer grafting onto seedling Carpinus caroliniana understock by the Inventor in Menomonee Falls, Wis. Asexual propagation by side-veneer grafting and cleft grafting has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.